Nepal enters new era of peaceful worship and celebration

Based on an article by FARAH AKBAR - nbcnews.com/

““Humankind is making amazing discoveries concerning our partners from the animal kingdom. More and more specialists believe animals have a conscience like we do and daily we are discovering their amazing abilities – while at the same time continuing to slaughter them on an increasing scale! We bless ourselves in our ability as a race to honour and respect our animal neighbours as an end in themselves and no longer just as means to cater to our needs and wants.We bless ourselves in our ability grasp that loving our neighbour includes all living creatures of whatever form or species.” Pierre Pradervand, from a blessing for animals.

Nepal will no longer be known as the country that hosts the world's largest religious slaughter of animals. In a historic move, the centuries old tradition of sacrificing hundreds of thousands of animals for the Hindu Goddess Gadhimai came to an end in July 2015.

The Gadhimai Temple Trust announced their decision to ban all animal sacrifices in upcoming festivals, held every five years at the Gadhimai Temple in the town of Bariyarpur. The next one is scheduled to take place in 2019.

"The time has come to replace killing and violence with peaceful worship and celebration," said Ram Chandra Shah, Chairman of the Gadhimai Temple in a press release. The declaration is the result of deliberations between the Temple, Animal Welfare Network Nepal and Humane Society International. Millions of Hindu devotees flocked to the festival to offer animal sacrifices to Gadhimai, the Goddess of Power, in the hopes of a better life.

"We'll celebrate Gadhimai in a grander manner without blood," said Manoj Gautam, President of Animal Welfare Network of Nepal, who has been campaigning against the slaughter for the past six years. "We'll help the Temple make it a real celebration of life."